Snell pitches Pirates past Colorado, 8-4

Pittsburgh also took advantage of nine walks by the Rockies.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ian Snell won for only the second time in 18 starts, and then acted as if he didn’t want to speak to reporters.

“I’m not really going to talk,” the Pirates right-hander said jokingly. “I don’t want to jinx myself. I’ll talk about anything else but the start.”

Snell went seven innings despite a rough beginning, Nate McLouth homered and Pittsburgh rallied for a 8-4 victory over Colorado, snapping the Rockies’ five-game winning streak.

Ryan Doumit and Doug Mientkiewicz each had three hits and two RBIs for the Pirates, who had lost three straight. Pittsburgh also took advantage of nine walks to beat Colorado for the first time in five games this season. The Rockies had won nine of 10 since the All-Star break.

It looked like Snell would be in for a short outing after a two-run homer by Matt Holliday in the first and an RBI single from Willy Taveras in the second staked Colorado to a 3-0 lead.

“He started off rocky,” Pittsburgh manager John Russell said.

But after Taveras’ hit, Snell (4-8) retired 14 of the final 17 hitters he faced. He went seven innings for the second time in 21 starts this season and won for the first time since beating Washington June 11.

In all, it’s been a disappointing season for the 26-year-old Snell, who won 23 games combined in 2006-07 and had high expectations for this year after signing a long-term contract in March and earning the team’s opening day start.

“We know he can pitch,” Russell said. “He’s proven it. He’s just had a tough time this year. It was nice to see him win tonight. That’s what we’ve been looking for. Hopefully, it’s a turning point.”

Snell allowed four runs and eight hits to go along with a walk and eight strike outs.

“I was focusing on throwing strikes, that was it,” Snell said. “It was a team effort. Everybody pitched in. I helped my team stay in the game. That was my job.”

Rockies starter Valerio De Los Santos, called up from Triple-A before the game, held the Pirates scoreless through four innings in his first major league start in more than eight years.

But the 35-year-old seemed to tire in the fifth, walking the first two batters he faced. His replacement, Jason Grilli, only made things worse, walking a third batter and then allowing a two-run double by Doumit. Pittsburgh sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored four runs.